The number of possible applications and the flexibility of communication devices, particularly of mobile communication devices, has risen greatly in recent times. Thus, modern communication devices are capable of simultaneously receiving and transmitting signals according to various mobile communication standards. Communication devices which can be designated as third generation can receive, for example, signals according to the WCDMA/UMTS mobile radio standard and according to the GSM or EDGE mobile radio standards. This enables a user to be available in regions with different availability or different so-called network coverage.
The high flexibility with regard to a use of mobile communication standards takes into account the growing needs of the users to provide, on the one hand, for different applications and, on the other hand, for high data transmission rates. The demand for high data transmission rates and mobility leads to the use of diversity receivers. In these types of receivers, the useful or mobile radio signal is received via more than one antenna and the received signal components are processed further jointly. This makes it possible to compensate for slight disturbances on the signal path, for example due to interference, and thus to guarantee adequate signal quality for high data transmission rates.
The various requirements for the mobile communication device or for the transmitting and receiving stages within the device possibly need a high number of additional external components for the individual applications. These include, among other things, narrow-band filters, which aid in suppression of interference signal components in the received signals for improving a useful-signal/noise proportion. The needed components require additional space and increase the production costs.
The increase in requirements for miniaturization and integration of circuits leads to a desire for providing a transceiver arrangement with the least possible number of external components. As well, methods for receiving a signal would be desirable by means of which the number of components needed can be reduced.